Century-old postcard of Middletown City School building finds its way back to Middletown

A more than 100-year-old postcard of a now-demolished Middletown City School building has found its way back to Middletown, thanks to a 95-year-old man from Stockton, California known as the "Postcard Man."

Lowell Joerg has made headlines across the country for sending antique postcards back to the communities represented on them. He refers to his hobby as a "redistribution of happiness," something he says we need more of these days. 

The circa 1915 postcard features the "new" Middletown High School, built in 1908. Located on Central Ave. at Clark St., the school officially opened to students the following year in 1909.

According to local historians, in 1923, the building became an eighth grade school, known as Roosevelt, after a new high school opened on Girard Ave. The building then became the Middletown City Building from 1930 to 1976. It would then sit empty, and later be severely damaged by a fire in 1984 before finally being demolished.

In a letter to the district, which also contained the postcard, Joerg says he isn't sure how the postcard ended up in California. But he wanted to "send it back where it can be appreciated," since "heritage is important."

Read coverage of Joerg sending a postcard to another school district in Ohio, to a hospital in Wisconsin, and to a museum in Buffalo, NY.